Another Gospel by Joel Looper

Author:Joel Looper
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Published: 2024-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

5

A GOSPEL POLITICS

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me’” (Matt. 4:8–9 NRSV).

Hold Jesus’s form in your mind’s eye as he looks down from that windswept crag. The frailty and suffering inherent in the human condition was his as well as the power and authority of the divine nature. Ask yourself, what went through his mind when Satan made this offer?

You know, the inter-kingdom community is on the cusp of world-changing forward progress. I could institute democratic rule, establish security to ensure economic growth over the long term, and put the right experts in place to establish institutional fidelity and longevity. Maybe I eventually build myself a nice, but not lavish house on the Mediterranean and an apartment in Jerusalem upscale enough to host visiting dignitaries. Once I’d changed cultural expectations about transitions of power and human rights, raised educational standards, and rooted out corruption in local governments, I could have a quiet retirement with family and friends. Maybe it would make pragmatic sense to take Satan up on his offer.

Now that I put it in writing, that sounds stupid, doesn’t it? Perhaps something more “kenotic”:

Well, Satan, that looks awfully nice. But, look, I don’t want to lord it over anyone. I’m more of a facilitator, one who walks alongside people and empowers them to build their own identities. A position like Lord of the World just doesn’t feel right to me.

Or perhaps orthodoxy is the missing ingredient here.

Look, I would take the deal, Lucifer, but the Father and I have this plan for me to die, and I need people to believe that my death has a sacrificial effect that connects them to God. Taking control of all the kingdoms of the world might make things too good for humankind, and they might not come to terms with their need for a personal savior.

No, you’re right. Literally no one can imagine any of these scenarios, whatever moralistic, theological, or political use they make of the passage. Neither titles and luxury nor the longing for human approval could tempt a man already enthroned as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and Satan knew very well with whom he was dealing. Yet in Matthew’s account, this temptation is saved for last, and one senses it may have been the worst of the three. What about this offer did Satan think would be so enticing for Jesus?

Imagine with me what doing obeisance before Satan would allow Jesus to accomplish. He could institute utopia on earth, the best relative justice available to imperfect, unjust human beings. It would mean a qualitatively different future for the world. Imagine the lives saved, the bestial inhumanity people perpetrate on each other stopped forever. Imagine the end of war, poverty, and oppression.

If Jesus didn’t accept, however, it meant letting the world go its way.

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